Friday, February 28, 2014

Featuring historian Amanda Vickery, this thoughtful (and beautiful) tour of Chawton Cottage, Jane Austen's home, is an excerpt from Professor Vickery's mini-series, At Home with the Georgians. Based on her wonderful book BehindClosed Doors: At Home in Georgian England, it's an equally wonderful series, incorporating visits to 18th c. houses large and small, readings from letters and diaries, and costumed actors and actresses. I don't believe the series has ever been shown on American TV (perhaps not unless the networks develop CSI: Bath first), but it is available in its entirety on DVD from Amazon. If you enjoyed Professor Vickery's behind-the-scenes recreation of the Netherfield Ball, you'll love this series, too. Highly recommended for all you Georgian & Regency fans out there!

Sally, I'm sorry the video didn't work for you. Here's a direct link to it on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ga6rVYEsiGY

Yes, Chawton House is also shown in this clip, but in comparison to the much more modest Chawton Cottage - stressing the difference in station between the the women of the Austen family and Edward Knight. :)

I love your blogs and subscribe to them by email. Fridays are my favorite because of videos like this one. I also want to thank you for the blog about elastic. It was available much earlier than I'd thought.

Well call me fatuous, because I liked this a lot. I knew that Jane Austen and her mother and sister lived in humble circumstances compared to Mr. Knight, but it's shocking to see exactly how different their stations were. In the same family! Thank you for posting this and all the other wonderful videos each week. You Girls Rock!

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A Polite Explanation

There’s a big difference in how we use history. But we’re equally nuts about it. To us, the everyday details of life in the past are things to talk about, ponder, make fun of -- much in the way normal people talk about their favorite reality show.

We talk about who’s wearing what and who’s sleeping with whom. We try to sort out rumor or myth from fact. We thought there must be at least three other people out there who think history’s fascinating and fun, too. This blog is for them.